ISSUE FOCUS 48 FEED & ADDITIVE MAGAZINE March 2026 tories retrievable. This demands integrated sensor technologies such as NIR systems, particle size distribution measurement, infrared or microwave moisture analysis and high-speed inspection systems operating within a unified automation environment. But sensors alone are not enough. The real challenge is integration. Multiple vendors, multiple data streams, multiple communication protocols, all without a unified automation architecture, can create fragmentation instead of control. As system integrators, our responsibility is to bring these technologies together into a secure and structured platform that ensures transparency, traceability, and reliability. Feed safety today depends not only on physical processing but also on structured and retrievable data. VARIABILITY IS THE REAL ENEMY Harjacek: In many feed mills, production operates at around 80% of nominal capacity. Operators are often blamed for not pushing further. In my experience across pulp & paper, malting & brewing, and feed & biofuel industries, that threshold reflects uncertainty - not reluctance. Variability in raw materials, recipe changes, seasonal shifts, and operator differences all introduce fluctuations into the process. When conditioning parameters or other key upstream processes drift off, motor loads become unstable, forcing operators to maintain that safety margin because the system response becomes difficult to predict. This variability is not primarily a people issue; it is a control strategy problem. True improvement requires addressing core process-driven limitations and fundamental control constraints. At Andritz, our ACE control suite is designed to reduce variability at its source by stabilizing key process parameters and aligning control strategies with physical process behavior. By reducing KPI variability by 40-60%, autonomous operations can be achieved, and we can operate closer to physical limits, without compromising safety margins. So, when variability is controlled, safety and performance move in the same optimized direction rather than competing with each other. CYBERSECURITY IS PART OF FEED SAFETY Harjacek: Feed safety today is not only biological and mechanical. It is digital. If a feed mill’s automation system is compromised, production can stop entirely, but animals still need to be fed. If feed cannot be produced, animal welfare is directly affected. Secure control systems protect recipe management, temperature regulation, dosing accuracy, and traceability databases, ensuring that production continues without disruption. As one of the world’s leading system integrators and the first OEM provider to achieve IEC 62443 cybersecurity certification, we recognize that safety today is biological, mechanical, and digital. Cybersecurity is not an abstract IT concern. It is part of safeguarding operational continuity for tomorrow and, by extension, animal welfare. TRACEABILITY AS A LEGAL AND OPERATIONAL SAFEGUARD Harjacek: When deviations occur, and, in industrial environments, they sometimes do, response time is what truly matters. Integrated Track & Trace systems provide immediate insight into affected batches, enabling rapid isolation of risk and minPhoto: Andritz
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